new york style bagels

New York Style Bagels. Want to give your local bakery or coffee shop some competition?
Well with this recipe you can! This recipe is fantastic tasting.

You can create them in your very own kitchen.
With just a little work you and your family can enjoy fresh warm out of oven
bagels. Enjoy them plain or with added toppings. Pack them in lunches, picnics,
or just for that snack on the way to work.

This recipe makes 8 medium size bagels.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons
of active dry yeast (I store mine in the refrigerator to keep it fresh)

1 1/2 tablespoons
of sugar

1 1/ 2 cups
of warm tap water (not hot)

3 1/2 cups (500g
if weighing) of bread flour

1 1/2
teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons of liquid honey for boiling

1 egg + 1/4 cup water for egg wash

Small amount of oil for bowls and baking sheet

Directions:

In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup of the warm water, yeast,
and the sugar rest for five minutes or until bubbly.

In a large bowl combine the flour and the salt.
Make a dent in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the yeast mixture,
and half of the remaining water. Stir in the remaining the water you may not
need to use all of it. You will want your dough to be moist but firm. It is
ready when it forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Once the dough is mixed turn it out onto a floured
surface. With floured hands knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Add flour as
needed to make a firm, stiff dough. The dough will be ready when it is smooth
and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball.

Place the dough into a large well-oiled bowl and
turn the dough to coat all sides with oil. Cover the bowl with a warm damp cloth.
Place the bowl in a warm draft free place for 1 hour. The dough is ready when
it has doubled in size. Punch down the dough and allow it to rest for 10
minutes.

Turn the dough onto a very lightly floured surface
and divide it into 8 equal pieces. I like to shape the dough into a log then
cut the log in half. I then cut the two halves in half. Then cut each quarter
in half. This gives me the size I need for all eight pieces.

With your hands pick up a piece of dough and very gently shape
it into a dough ball smooth on all sides. The gentler you are with the dough at this stage the better the finished product will be. Now repeat with 7 other dough pieces.

Now with floured hand pick up one dough ball and
very gently work your finger through the center of each dough ball to form a
ring. Stretch the ring to about 1/3 the diameter of the bagel. Place the bagel on
a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining seven dough
balls.

Cover the shaped bagels on the baking sheet with a
warm damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 425F

Fill a large pot with water and add the liquid
honey. Bring the water honey mixture to a boil. When it is boiling reduce the
heat. Lower the bagels into the water using a skimmer so they will hold their shape..
Place in the pot only as many bagels that will fit in a single layer on top of
the water. Once the bagels start to float cook for one minute then flip them over
and allow to them cook for one more minute. If you prefer a chewier bagel then
boil the bagels for 2 minutes on each side. This will produce a more New York
style bagel. Transfer the boiled bagels to a wire rack to cool.

In a small bowl combine the egg and water. This will make an egg wash for the New York Style Bagel . Using a pastry brush coat the tops of the boiled bagels with the egg wash. You may now add any toppings or combination of toppings that you wish to your New York Style Bagel . Some examples are coarse salt, poppy seed, caraway seeds, minced fresh garlic, minced fresh onion, cinnamon, cardamom, brown sugar, regular sugar, raw sugar ,or sesame seeds.

Transfer the prepared bagels to an oiled baking sheet.

They are now ready for the oven. Place the baking
sheet in the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until a golden brown
color.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and remove
the finished New York Style Bagel to a wire rack to cool.

They are now ready to eat either plain or with your
favorite spread.

Enjoy!

To store your New York Style Bagels once they are baked pre-slice
them and place them into a freezer bag. Or wrap each one in plastic wrap and
store them in the freezer until needed.